A Floral Wedding Gown For A Rustic Style, Summer Garden Party Feast in Italy

Good morning beautiful! I really hope you had a lovely weekend – wasn’t the sunshine glorious here in the UK? I simply adore Autumn, it’s my favourite season by far – the natural light brings out all the most beautiful shades and hues of nature and the outdoors, it fascinates me.  We spent the day yesterday with our little girls and dogs walking the beautiful Yorkshire moors, having afternoon cream tea in a little cafe, browsing through antiques and generally enjoying much of what comes for free in this life – bliss. What did you get up to?

This morning’s wedding is elegance personified, a destination wedding that features a very lovely floral wedding gown.  Hamish, who works in Foreign Exchange sales and Sara, a Structural Engineer, tied the knot on 29th August 2013 at Villa Pipistrelli in Montestigliano, just south of Siena in Tuscany, Italy. The couple were assisted in planning their wedding by Barbara and Stefania from Weddings International, and the super talented UK based Claudia Rose Carter was their photographer.  We’re huge fans of Claudia’s work (more of which you can see here on Love My Dress) but it was Sara’s elegant floral wedding dress that stole the show on this occasion.

Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Claudia Rose Carter

“Hamish and I have been together since 2007 when we met through
friends in Sydney. Hamish proposed while we were on holiday in Sweden
in 2011. It was winter and we were sitting down by a river with some
mulled wine in a thermos after a day of cross country skiing.

He had
brought with him a ring that he had designed himself, and was more than a
little scared to drop it in the snow.”

“We wanted to have our wedding on neutral ground (Hamish is
Australian and Sara is Swedish) and Italy is one of our favourite
countries to visit, rich in culture and amazing food and wine. We had
seen Montestigliano on a previous visit and knew it would be perfect.

It’s an old farm village converted to beautiful holiday rentals and it
provided the perfect backdrop nestled among olive groves and cypress
trees. Family and friends could stay for a week for a genuine Tuscan
experience.”

“We didn’t really have a theme we just knew we wanted a big
summer garden feast, and everything outdoor – we didn’t even have a ‘Plan B’ in case of rain. We also wanted to make the most of what was
available to us in Tuscany.  In the end we went with what suited the
venue and setting best.  There was so much available to us already in
terms of the buildings and colours, the views and the vines in the
garden, we only had to add the details.

We opted for a natural soft palate with lots of greens which also incorporated olive tree branches from the estate.”

“Our wedding ceremony was short and sweet, we just wanted a beautiful moment in the amazing garden.”

“Australian designer Wendy Makin
made my gown, and for the reception I had a shorter less formal
reception dress, which I designed myself.  I tried on a lot of white
dresses, but when I tried this one  I
just couldn’t go past it.   I loved that it was different and I thought
it was just the perfect dress for our garden ceremony and reception.”

The couple used a 1960’s Fiat 500 to take them from the ceremony to the reception…

Sara let her dress take centre stage on her wedding day – she chose not to wear a veil or headpiece, just a thin gold chain which was given to her when she was born.  She did however wear a fabulously sparkly pair of Jimmy Choo’s…

“We used a lot of things from the farm, such as hay bales for
seating and wine barrels as side tables – and a tractor to transport our
guests from the ceremony to the reception! Two girlfriends helped us
make a couple of wooden signs for the personal touch, and my mum and sister
went to the market in Siena and picked up a few additional bunches of
flowers.

We also used strings of lights hanging
from the trees and over the dance floor.”

“We had traditional Tuscan family
style cuisine. We chose to go with local produce and traditional dishes
which, when you’re in Italy, can’t go wrong.  The beautiful way the antipasti
and bread tables were presented during the cocktails was a highlight
and also added to the décor.”

“My dress designer, Wendy Makin, also made me a shorter dress that was perfect for the dance floor and I’m very glad I had this option.”

“From the minute she arrived, our photographer, Claudia Rose Carter, added
her personal touch to the photos, resulting in natural images
that made the most of the light and surrounds as well as all the little captured
moments.”

 

“We had a saxophonist and a guitarist to play during the ceremony; when I walked in they played Love Song by Adele.”

“The cake was an Italian Millefoglie with fresh berries.  For
extra entertainment it was assembled and decorated by the chef in front
of the guests. It was absolutely delicious – and not a single piece was left the day after.”

“The after dinner dancing was so much fun. No one left the dance
floor until the band stopped playing and everyone, young and old, had a
ball!”

Words of Wedded Wisdom… 

“If you
have your wedding in a different country, go local – there’s no need to
bring champagne to Italy, stick with Prosecco, it will add to the
experience and your guests may even get to experience something they
wouldn’t have otherwise.  Also make sure to get a local planner that can
help you source the best suppliers.

The only thing I would maybe do differently is to have stayed on for a little while after the wedding.  It all went too quickly in the lead up to the day and it would have been
great to stay for a bit longer to just take it all in.”

Elegance to the end.  Congratulations Sara and Hamish, and thank you for allowing us the great pleasure of being able to enjoy and be inspired by your wedding photographs, they are truly beautiful. Thanks also to photographer, Claudia Rose Carter, for once again choosing to share her exquisite work on Love My Dress.  You can see more from Claudia on these blog pages here.

You can see many more weddings in Italy and coloured/colourful wedding dresses – be sure to also check out our Pinterest board dedicated to coloured wedding dresses.

 

If you are looking for support planning  a wedding in Italy, try Sara and Hamish’s own wedding planners, Weddings International, or look up Wed In Italy.

Are you planning a wedding in Italy or destination wedding?  We’d love you to share your plans if so.

With much love,

Annabel

Photographer – Claudia Rose Carter
Wedding Planner – Barbara and Stefania from Weddings International
Venue – Villa Pipistrelli in Montestigliano, just south of Siena in Tuscany, Italy
Wedding Dress – Wendy Makin (Australia)
Brides Shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bride’s accessories – simple thin gold chain (gift as a newborn)
Grooms Suit – MJ Bale, Sydney, Australia
Cake – Italian Millefoglie with fresh berries
Transport – 1960s Fiat 500
Entertainment – Vivace Jazz Quintet

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